"I had a little rebellious phase in my 20s, when I tried liquor for the first time" - When Serena Williams reflected on her young days
Serena Williams has always lived by the words of her mother Oracene Price and her teachings, as the American tennis great once revealed. Price values 'obedience' greatly and Williams said she was always obedient and did what her parents told her, barring a brief "rebellious" phase in her 20s.
Back in 2017, Williams herself became a mother to her daughter Olympia Ohanian. In light of her new experience with motherhood, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion once suggested that she would raise her daughter with some of the teachings her own mother imparted to her.
Williams then went down memory lane and opened up about how she lived up to the virtues of obedience as a youngster after her mother explained the importance of the same to her.
"Obedience brings protection; that’s what my mom told me," Serena Williams said in a 2018 interview with Vogue. "That’s straight from the Bible, and she wrote it down on paper and gave it to me. I was always obedient: Whatever my parents told me to do, I did. There was no discussion."
However, she drifted away from the same for some time in her 20s, when she first tasted liquor, Williams further said:
"Maybe I had a little rebellious phase in my 20s, when I tried liquor for the first time."
Having said that, Williams then confidently stated that playing professional tennis as a mother was probably the most rebellious thing she would ever do.
"Maybe having a baby on the tennis tour is the most rebellious thing I could ever do," Williams expressed in the same interview, just ahead of her comeback after childbirth.
"Serena works herself too hard, she’s always been that way" - Serena Williams' mother Oracene Price
Serena Williams' mother Oracene Price also spoke about her daughter's youth, saying that her youngest child has always been a hard worker, ever since she was a little girl. Price also shared her thoughts on her daughter's motherhood, saying that Williams would "need to learn to slow down" for the sake of Olympia.
"Serena works herself too hard," Price said in the same interview. "She’s always been that way, ever since she was a little girl. She’s going to need to learn to slow down. She’s responsible for another life now."
When Williams announced her retirement from tennis back in August after a 27-year-long pro career, she expressed that spending more time with her family, particularly her now 5-year-old daughter Olympia, is among her biggest reasons for stepping away.